• For more than two weeks, the Assize Court of the North, in Douai, must judge the abuse and acts of barbarism on a child aged two and a half.

  • Today, the victim is placed with a foster family.

    During his last medical examination, he suffered from neurological problems.

  • A child protection association, "L'Enfant bleu" also points to the dysfunctions of the police and social services in the follow-up of the accused.

“At the end of his ordeal, this child could no longer walk,” says a lawyer.

For more than two weeks, the Assize Court of the North, in Douai, must judge the abuse and acts of barbarism committed for several days, in Auberchicourt, on a child aged two and a half at the time of the events.

Today, little Joris* is placed in a foster family.

During his last medical examination, he suffered from neurological problems.

The trial, which begins Monday, will therefore look at the different responsibilities of the six defendants, aged 26 to 31.

The investigation began on December 18, 2018 when Joris was taken to hospital by his mother, Christine P.. He suffered numerous blows and injuries to his face, body and genitals.

The nursing staff also detects fractures of the tibia and pelvis.

The alert is given.

The mother is immediately taken into custody.

Due to the seriousness of the injuries, the little victim is placed in an artificial coma but she will recover.

Martyred at drunken parties

The first auditions reveal a mother overwhelmed by the agitated behavior of Joris.

She explains that this is the reason that pushed her to entrust her son, on an ongoing basis, to a friend, Coraline R., described as "godmother", and her companion, Sébastien B.. 

This couple had just relocated to the North, after living for two years in Lot-et-Garonne with their five daughters.

Both are accused of having martyred the little boy, in particular during two alcoholic evenings organized at their home, a week apart.

Two of their relatives, Kevin and Jordan D., also present at these evenings, must also appear for acts of torture.

All four risk thirty years of criminal imprisonment.

A fifth accused, the sister of Coraline R., is accused, for her part, of non-denunciation of ill-treatment.

"It's miraculous that Joris is still alive"

“The facts are serious, assures Jean-Philippe Broyart, lawyer for “Childhood and Sharing”, one of the child protection associations which filed a civil action.

The child suffered terrible humiliations: eating his excrement, licking his shoes… They jumped him with both feet on his body.

“It is miraculous that Joris is still alive because he suffered unprecedented violence,” insists Laurence Micallef-Napoly, lawyer for the association “L’enfant bleu”, also a civil party.

The last accused is the mother of Joris, absent during these evenings, but who admitted, according to the investigators, having also committed violence against Joris and his 5-year-old older brother, for many months.

She faces a sentence of 7 years in prison.

Malfunctions of the police and social services?

But in this case, the association "L'Enfant bleu" also points to the dysfunctions of the police and social services.

“Many warning beams should have mobilized the police and social services more on the dangers that weighed on Joris, both within the family unit and in the close entourage”, she denounces, in a press release. .

The lawyer, Me Micallef-Napoly, evokes "a context of known domestic violence".

“Joris' mother had been the subject of socio-educational monitoring for several years.

In June 2017, yet another worrying information (IP) for suspicious injuries on Joris' older brother had been transmitted to the collection cell for worrying information in the North, but there was no follow-up.

»

Ditto for the couple to whom the child was entrusted.

This time, the lawyer reveals "shortcomings in the child protection system".

“In October 2017, while the couple was living in Lot-et-Garonne, their eldest daughter was the subject of worrying information for traces of blows.

The investigation service learns on this occasion that the family had been followed in the North for seven years by the social services ”, notes the association.

A blur on the follow-up

In October 2018, when the couple moved back to the North, they once again escaped the surveillance of the departmental services.

“This is a situation observed in other cases, moving to another department makes it possible to escape investigations”, laments Laurence Micallef-Napoly.

“We actually have the impression that they are fleeing social services and that there is a blur on the follow-up of the accused”, adds Me Broyart.

This is why L'Enfant Bleu will plead, in this case, for "the creation of a national file of worrying information and reports".

This will certainly not be the subject of the trial, but the opportunity for the public prosecutor to seize on a burning subject in order "to prevent other children from having to suffer the terrible consequences of this type of failures, ”says Me Micallef-Napoly.

*Alias.

Miscellaneous facts

Essonne: A man brought to justice in a case of rape, murder and torture

Justice

Val-d'Oise: A 44-year-old computer scientist accused of rape with acts of torture on his 11-year-old daughter

  • Justice

  • assize court

  • Torture

  • Child protection

  • Violence

  • Lille

  • Hauts-de-France

  • Court case